A new survey released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows that the majority of small business owners feel unprepared to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). More than two-thirds of respondents said they aren’t ready for the employer insurance mandates, which were recently delayed by a year to give companies more time to prepare for the adjustment. The healthcare law is now scheduled to go into full effect in 2015, instead of 2014.
The business lobbying group conducts quarterly surveys of small firms, and this quarter found that concerns over the regulations have gone up by 4 percentage points since first quarter 2013. The survey also found that 30 percent of businesses reported being unprepared to comply with the new law, and around 25 percent of respondents said they did not know what they had to do to meet the regulations.
The report also found that 71 percent of the 1,300 small businesses polled said they would be less likely to hire new workers because of the law. Owners are apparently concerned over the rising costs of healthcare and how it will financially impact business.
Concerns over finances
As small businesses are still struggling to stay afloat, many worry that the healthcare law will sink companies that are still having a hard time with hiring or getting a small business loan. In order to stay in business and to dodge the healthcare mandates, 24 percent of survey respondents said they planned on cutting hiring to stay under the 50-employee threshold – under the healthcare legislation, all employers with more than 50 workers are required to offer health insurance options for their staff.
With the employer healthcare mandate approaching over the coming years, many businesses may find themselves in need of extra funding. If a small business owner needs help with company financing, they can come to National Funding, where companies can get a cash advance for small business and find resources for improving business practices across the board.
